While the San Antonio Spurs would like to avoid trading Kawhi Leonard to a Western Conference opponent, they ultimately can't control his final destination. Though the Spurs can deal him to an Eastern Conference team, there's no controlling what that teams ultimately does with Leonard's rights. Technology goods, including telecom components made in the U.S., are no different. There's no accounting for their final destination. That's why technology produced in the U.S. can and will reach North Korea and Iran (gasp!) regardless of punishments superfluously foisted on companies like ZTE. Such a move not only makes economic sense, but it is also a reminder of how mercantilist some on the right have become. Assuming 5G lives up to its potential, who cares where it's originally perfected and brought to the market from? What difference does it make if the first mover is from Spokane or Shanghai? To presume this matters is the same as presuming that San Jose is harmed because Microsoft is headquartered in Seattle. That's not serious. All that matters is that we have the technology, which we will assuming it has market applications. The opinion piece can be found here.